KUWAIT CITY, March 27: In a recent interview with Al-Rai, 30-year-old Sayed Abdel Hakim shared the unfortunate experience he encountered while attempting to pay his phone bill online. Abdel Hakim recounted, "I searched on the global search engine (Google) for the website of the company that I deal with to pay my phone bill worth 50 dinars, and I found what I was looking for in the first site that was similar to an extent."

He described the website as resembling the official site of the company, complete with its logo and colors, which initially instilled a sense of trust. "It was large for the company’s official website with its logo and colors. He asked me to enter the debit card information, and then the OTP number was sent to me," Abdel Hakim explained.

However, his trust was shattered when he received a notification confirming the withdrawal of his entire balance, totaling 2,750 dinars. "The surprise was that a message came to my phone confirming the withdrawal of everything in my balance, which was an amount of 2,750 dinars. I was dreaming of increasing it so that I could travel in the summer. To my wife and son, whom I have not seen for two years, and the sad thing is that I still have to pay the phone bill," he lamented.

Abdel Hakim swiftly contacted his bank to report the incident, resulting in the immediate suspension of his account. Reflecting on his ordeal, he issued a cautionary warning to others against making electronic payments on untrusted websites. "After I realized the tragedy, I called the bank and informed it of what happened. My account was immediately suspended. I warn everyone against electronic payment from untrusted sites. Anyone who wants to pay must rely on approved sites so as not to bite their fingers of regret like me."

Abdel Hakim's story serves as a sobering reminder of the risks associated with online transactions and the importance of exercising caution when sharing sensitive financial information online.